Analysis and commentary on the practice of appellate law and on news, events and decisions from the Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and United States Supreme Court

The Wall Street Journal has this terrific front-page story on the battle among Washington elites to get a seat at the Court's upcoming oral arguments on the 2010 health care law. Even former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, who worked on one of the amicus briefs, isn't sure he'll get a seat.

Three days of oral argument will begin a week from Monday. It does not appear that the Court contemplates a live broadcast of the proceedings -- which I find somewhat surprising -- so anyone who doesn't get a seat will have to wait until the end of the week to hear the audio.

March 05, 2012

This morning the Colorado Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Eid, held that the Colorado Concealed Carry Act divests the CU Board of Regents of its authority to ban concealed handgun possession on campus. The decision, which is here, means that CU students who hold a valid concealed carry license under the CCA may not be prohibited from carrying handguns on campus.

The Court's decision is a straightforward application of rules of statutory interpretation. The plain language of the CCA did not exclude public universities from its reach -- unlike public elementary, middle, junior high or high schools, which are specifically excluded from the reach of the CCA. Moreover, as we pointed out in an amicus brief we submitted in this case on behalf of the National Rifle Association, in enacting the CCA, the General Assembly specifically considered a provision that would have excluded public universities from the CCA's reach, but decisively rejected it.

This decision is not surprising given the strength of the plain language argument, but it is a bit surprising -- and gratifying -- that the decision is unanimous.